


Eyes Only

by psiten



Category: Tokyo Babylon
Genre: Both the Sumeragi Clan and the Sakurazukamori are Government Contractors, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Slice of Life, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 20:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5469368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psiten/pseuds/psiten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Really, though. Not watching the door? A slip of judgement like that could get a man killed!</p>
</blockquote><p>Some things, even Sakurazuka Seishirou won't do -- if the resulting paperwork is tedious enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eyes Only

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sekaiseifuku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sekaiseifuku/gifts).



     There was no reason, as far as Seishirou saw, to knock on Subaru-kun's door simply because he wanted to bring in the cake he'd acquired. Startling the subject of his little bet was entertaining, and he could claim the door had been unlocked. Killing the sound in his footsteps and the spiritual trace of his presence, Seishirou made as short work of the Sumeragi's lock as he had made of locks on many government officials before him on many previous occasions. A minor spell, too minor to be noticed, let him know that Subaru-kun did not have line of sight on the door. That made his entry even easier. He simply had to walk in, take stock of the room, and pick the best path to put himself behind Subaru-kun before he declared his entrance.

     Really, though. Not watching the door? A slip of judgement like that could get a man killed!

     The first thing Seishirou noticed as he slid the door shut behind him was the lack of any natural light. The Sumeragi twins had their apartments cleaned regularly, so if course there was no dust to disturb, but Seishirou had never seen any signs that Subaru-kun closed the blinds in the main room at any time. Their apartments were far too high up for mere privacy to be a concern. They had no windows in facing buildings to worry about, as evidenced by the fact that they had sunlit rooms at all. Yet here were the blinds, shut tight. The only light he detected was artificial, and fluorescent at that. Hokuto-chan never would have allowed fluorescent lights in her decorating!

     He peeked around the pillar at the end of the kitchenette. Subaru-kun was sitting at his coffee table, immersed in documents. There was nothing odd about the manila folders at first glance. They looked like any of the thousands of manila folders the Sumeragi clan head worked through when he had a job to do. But he had a portable fluorescent lamp on the table, which Seishirou had never seen before. It all started to make sense, however, when Subaru-kun reached for a switch on the lamp, and his fluorescent light flipped to a blacklight setting. Lines on the papers glowed, growing clearer when he put certain documents directly underneath...

     Seishirou slipped his fake glasses down his nose. They may not have had any prescription, but glass could still distort his vision, and he wanted to see clearly. He recognized the letter patterns that glowed under the blacklight. It was one of the more recent codes he'd been briefed on by the Ministry of Justice. And here he thought only his profession, not the Sumeragi's, would require briefings from Public Security Intelligence. Threats to national security didn't often need to be exorcised. A harder look at the headers and covers of the documents on the table showed every branding of Top Secret correspondence Seishirou was aware of. He was certain some of those security clearances required background checks that went back further than Subaru-kun had been alive. He had them all, too.

     Perhaps not having been born yet was considered unlikely to compromise one's loyalty.

     He could still surprise Subaru-kun. Sneak up behind him, ask him what he was doing, get an even bigger reaction than he'd planned on. But his test subject was so proper! He'd probably report the incident to the PSI as an unfortunate accident where Top Secret information was compromised, seen by a civilian no less. His own name would end up on the report, they might both have to go through the trouble of being re-cleared since the government might consider his behavior "irresponsible" in some way. The paperwork would be a bother. It might end up with Subaru-kun knowing his identity as well, but that would hardly matter. Both brother and sister suspected it on a regular basis. Making them forget they knew for certain would be easy.

     The paperwork, though. Leaving would be much less hassle.

     He traced his steps backward, slipped into the hallway, relocked the door. Then, with his brightest voice, he called out, "Cake delivery for Sumeragi Subaru-kun!" as he knocked.

     "S-seishirou-san?! Just a moment, I... umm... I'll be right there!"

     The shuffle of paper led into the roll of bars on what sounded like a triple-reinforced safe that Seishirou couldn't believe he'd failed to spot at any time in their acquaintance. Where on earth had Subaru-kun hidden it? Now he'd simply have to find out. It didn't sound like he was moving the sofa, and most of the walls were bare.

     While he listened for details inside, he almost -- but not quite -- missed the person sneaking up behind him. When Hokuto-chan jumped on his shoulders, however, he was fully prepared to react with surprised stumbling instead of deadly force.

     "Hokuto-chan! What a pleasure to see my sister-in-law!"

     "Yay, I thought I heard you say cake from down the hall! But what a klutzy move, Sei-chan! Are you _sure_ you're a super assassin?!"

     He laughed off the accusation, while she turned her charms toward other ends.

     "Subaru~! What are you doing, leaving your boyfriend to wait out in the hallway?! You better have a good excuse!"

     When his subject threw the bolt and opened the door, the blinds were open as if they had never been closed -- no smudges on Subaru-kun's gloves from fussing with the cords, no swaying of the cloth-covered strips to show that they'd been moved recently. There was no trace of paperwork in sight either, and still no hint of where that safe might be in terms of hastily shifted furniture. There was only a slim onmyouji, bowing and apologizing.

     "I'm sorry, Seishirou-san, Hokuto-chan! I was, umm... well, i-in the bathroom."

     The sister tromped in to squeeze his cheeks until they were red. "Well, the least you could do is give Sei-chan a key so he can come in when you're indisposed!"

     Seishirou-san stared in amazement, first as the sister walked away without questioning the story, then as Subaru-kun appeared to show no guilt whatsoever. He knew as well as anyone that discussing covert work was taboo, by its very nature, but he hadn't expected Sumeragi Subaru to be able to _lie_. Not well enough to fool Hokuto-chan, at any rate.

     But, best not to be caught staring. "Really, Hokuto-chan," Seishirou called after the sister. "I can't expect a good young man like Subaru-kun to give his apartment key to an untrustworthy rascal like me! Goodness only knows what I'd do with it!"

     "S-seishirou-san! Please...!"

     "Oooh, too true! You could take advantage of my brother while no one was around! _What a thought!_ Subaru, _definitely_ give him your key."

     "Will both of you stop it?!"

     If he had come here with the intention of being entertained by a youth who was flustered with embarrassment, well...

     Mission accomplished. Time for cake.


End file.
